Pakistan top court orders PM arrest

Pakistan top court orders PM arrest
Decision relates to kickbacks case involving contracts awarded when Raja Pervez Ashraf was water and power minister.

The Pakistani Supreme Court has ordered the arrest of Raja Pervez Ashraf, the country's prime minister, in connection with a corruption case, officials say.

The court ordered the arrest of Ashraf on Tuesday morning, in case relating to contracts for the purchase of rental power plants by the federal government when Ashraf was the federal minister for water and power.

Ashraf, in his capacity as minister for water and power, "violated the principle of transparency, therefore, involvement in getting financial benefits out of the same by indulging in corruption and corrupt practices cannot be overruled", the order said.

The supreme court ordered the arrest of 16 people, including Ashraf, and directed authorities to present him in court on Thursday, Aamir Abbas, a lawyer for the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), said.